Directions in Tech Marketing. Intelligent Market Research

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1 Directions in Tech Marketing Intelligent Market Research

2 Directions in Tech Marketing Contents Executive Summary 2-5 Trends in tech marketing management 2 The changing culture of tech marketing 3 From "Creatives" to Content Builders - the new tech marketer 4 Multi-channel communications and the role of social media 5 Data 6-23 Big Trends 6-9 Has marketing communications become more or less centralised in recent years? 6 What is the trend in your company in terms of outsourcing marcomms? 7 Is your organisation's most senior marcomms professional on the main board? 8 What are the top trends you see driving B2B technology marketing today? 9 Brands to Leads What are the top trends you see driving B2B technology marketing today? 10 In which of these ways would you say the culture of marketing communications in your business has principally changed over the past few years? 11 What departments/teams beyond marketing/pr/communications use your target market research? 12 Which of the following are the three most important factors when measuring campaign success? 13 Marketer as researcher How do you track social media use by customers? 14 In which of these ways would you say the culture of marketing communications in your business has principally changed over the past few years? 15 Do you break-out the evaluation of campaign success across the different disciplines? E.g. social media, print advertising, DM, PR etc. 16 How do you research your target market? 17 When do you research your target markets? 18 Changing skill sets Which marketing skills do you regard as most valuable in B2B/B2C technology marketing? Combination grid showing answers ranked first, second and third. 19 Which marketing skills do you regard as most valuable in B2B/B2C technology marketing? Grid showing skills ranked as 'most important'. 20 Do you run integrated campaigns; i.e. ones that use different marcomms platforms/channels 21 Thinking about technology marcomms, in which of the following areas do you think there is a lack of skills? 22 When thinking about your organisation's ability in using tools such as data analytics, social media/analytics and insight tools, to what extent do you agree with the following statements: 23 Demographics About Vanson Bourne Vanson Bourne - Contents

3 Directions in Tech Marketing Trends in tech marketing management The first key trend is towards the centralisation of marketing. Half of respondents acknowledge that this is the direction of travel, compared with only 20% who say the opposite (p6). Perhaps the corollary to this is the slightly weaker, but still evident, phenomenon of bringing marketing communications in-house (p7). Somewhat more than one-third (37%) say this is how things are moving in their marketing department; this compares with only 7% who say the trend is to outsource more of their marcomms activity. The next characteristics to arise here are, again, possibly related: in only just over a third of cases (37%) is the company's most senior marketing communications professional on the main board (p8) AND in 81% of cases, marketing budgets are being cut (p9). The incidence of budget reduction is the main trend of a number identified in the survey, and which will be considered later. It is certainly arguable that the shifts we see in the next section are a consequence of budget reduction (as are the moves to re-centralisation and in-sourcing mentioned above). 02 Vanson Bourne - Trends in Tech Marketing Management

4 Directions in Tech Marketing The changing culture of tech marketing Respondents are virtually unanimous that the culture of marketing has changed in their business over the past few years (p12). The weakness of the general economy is the likely cause of budget cutting and general retrenchment, as discussed above. And symptomatic of difficult market conditions is a greater focus on driving sales - 68% of respondents are experiencing this re-definition of marketing's role (p9). Tech marketers also see the rise of social media as a key trend that is driving change in B2B marketing. Close behind "budget reduction", identified as a driving trend by 81% of our survey participants, social media is now a big factor for 75% of respondents (p9). Whether the growth in use of social media is fuelled by the "push" requirement to reduce expenditure or the "pull" requirement to respond to the market's increased use of social media is debatable. It's most likely that both play a part and, when it comes to the thrust of marketing within a respondent's own company, 81% say that a greater emphasis has been placed on social media (p12) - making it the top way the culture of marketing communications has changed over recent years. Reflecting the macro trend toward demand generation, 54% now say that marketing communications in their business are less about brand development and more about demand generation (p12). A hint at how far in this direction the role of marketing has moved, when asked which departments or teams beyond marketing use market research commissioned by marketing, 89% select "Sales" compared with only 60% saying "Strategy/planning" (p13). By the same token, 93% say "sales leads" are an important factor in assessing a campaign's success, versus only 25% who rate "brand perception" as important (p14). Other key cultural changes are in the areas of focused targeting and tracking/ evaluation (p12). This development will be considered again later. 03 Vanson Bourne - The changing culture of tech marketing

5 Directions in Tech Marketing From "Creatives" to Content Builders - the new tech marketer "Generating relevant audience insight" and "content creation" are now the mostly widely valued skills in technology marketing - over two-thirds of respondents selected these attributes in their top three. This contrasts with the 39% who selected "creativity" in their top three skills (p19). This might raise some eyebrows, but, looking at the outcomes discussed above - lower budgets, tighter focus, the absolute need to feed sales at the expense of brand development, it's clear that the possibly stereotypical view of a marketer as essentially a "creative type" is outmoded. Science has replaced art. Continuing the "marketing sciences" theme, the third most highly-regarded marketing skill in B2B is now the "ability to evaluate and prove ROI/value of marcomms" (p19). This reinforces the view, discussed earlier, that tracking and evaluation have become major trends in a tech marketing environment haunted by tight budgets and the need to deliver enough quality leads to tick at least one ROI box. 93% of respondents research their target market and a wide array of data sources are used to support the focused targeting, to develop meaningful content and to measure impact (p17). And 69% are doing this continuously (p18), doubtless producing reams of data that requires analysis and interpretation. This element of the process seems likely to be causing tech marketers their biggest headache. How so? We asked in what areas of tech marcomms is there a lack of skills; the top responses are "data analysis" and "making sense of different data sources", both selected by 42% of respondents, with "trends analysis" close behind on 36% (p22). These figures suggest that the speedy changes in marketing culture have outstripped the typical tech marketer's skill set. Reflecting back on the trends toward centralisation (which usually means headcount reduction) and in-sourcing, is this skill deficit likely to be resolved except through the use of skilled third-parties? 04 Vanson Bourne - From "Creatives" to Content Builders - the new tech marketer

6 Directions in Tech Marketing Multi-channel communications and the role of social media Social media has permeated all aspects of the tech marketer's role. 61% now say a "working knowledge of the burgeoning array of marcomms channels, including social media" is one of the key marketing skills (p19). 90% of respondents run integrated campaigns across multiple platforms and channels (p21), whilst 73% are required to evaluate campaign performance across the platforms separately (p10). When judging campaign performance, only 10% measure "social media chatter and mentions" in and of themselves, but "audience engagement" (71%) and "web traffic" (42%), which are arguably outcomes of good social media campaign practice, are seen as important campaign KPIs (p14). In the context of researching the market, particularly keeping track of customers, 44% are now using "social media/analytics" and 31% "social media customer insight tools" (p17). In the context of the in-house versus outsource picture, 58% of respondents that are using social media use in-house tracking tools, compared with only 16% that use an external specialist of some kind. Nearly all the others are not tracking social media at all (p15). 05 Vanson Bourne - Multi-channel communications and the role of social media

7 Big Trends Has marketing communications become more or less centralised in recent years? 51% : all respondents It's more centralised It's more decentralised/localised It's stayed the same 51% 19% 30% 51% say marketing communications has become more centralised 06 Vanson Bourne - Big Trends

8 Big Trends What is the trend in your company in terms of outsourcing marcomms? : all respondents We are moving in neither direction The trend is towards doing more in-house The trend is towards outsourcing more of our marketing communications function 56% 37% 7% 37% say the trend is towards doing more in-house 07 Vanson Bourne - Big Trends

9 Big Trends Is your organisation's most senior marcomms professional on the main board? : all respondents Yes No 37% 63% In only 37% of surveyed organisations is the most senior marcomms professional on the board 08 Vanson Bourne - Big Trends

10 Big Trends What are the top trends you see driving B2B technology marketing today? 75 % 81% say budget reduction 75% say rise in social media : only asked of respondents from organisations with a B2B focus Budget reduction Rise of social media Greater focus on driving sales Multi-platform access of our website/business systems Consumerisation of IT Rise of mobile data/the "mobile apps" economy Increased competition in our primary market Drive to maximise average revenue from each customer Rise of cloud computing Market convergence Industry consolidation Outsourcing customer insight/analytics Increasing competition from traditionally B2C companies *Other (please specify) * Other (please specify): With marketing and social media there is a perception that marketing can be done quickly and easily from sales; 50% of the decision is made before contacting a company via online research, content based marketing, digital marketing 81% 75% 68% 53% 49% 40% 32% 21% 19% 16% 11% 9% 4% 7% Vanson Bourne - Big Trends

11 Brands to Leads What are the top trends you see driving B2B technology marketing today? 68% say greater focus on driving sales : only asked of respondents from organisations with a B2B focus Budget reduction Rise of social media Greater focus on driving sales Multi-platform access of our website/business systems Consumerisation of IT Rise of mobile data/the "mobile apps" economy Increased competition in our primary market Drive to maximise average revenue from each customer Rise of cloud computing Market convergence Industry consolidation Outsourcing customer insight/analytics Increasing competition from traditionally B2C companies *Other (please specify) 81% 75% 68% 53% 49% 40% 32% 21% 19% 16% 11% 9% 4% 7% 57 * Other (please specify): With marketing and social media there is a perception that marketing can be done quickly and easily from sales; 50% of the decision is made before contacting a company via online research, content based marketing, digital marketing 10 Vanson Bourne - Brands to Leads

12 Brands to Leads In which of these ways would you say the culture of marketing communications in your business has principally changed over the past few years? Brands Designer TM Logo 54% say it's less about brand development and more about demand generation : all respondents A greater emphasis has been placed on social media A greater emphasis has been placed on targeting specific audiences Keeping track of customers has increased in importance It's less about brand development and more about demand generation A greater emphasis has been placed on evaluation, especially calculating ROI in communications Traditional marcomms now not perceived as delivering ROI We've adopted B2C communications principles/we've adopted B2B/corporate communications principles 81% 69% 54% 54% 47% 19% 14% It hasn't changed 2% 11 Vanson Bourne - Brands to Leads

13 Brands to Leads What departments/teams beyond marketing/pr/communications use your target market research? 89% indicated that other than marketing/pr/communications teams it is the Sales department who use target market research : only asked of respondents who do research their target market Sales Strategy/planning R&D/Product development Customer service/customer insight Board Finance HR No other departments and teams use our audience insight *Other (please specify) * Other (please specify): Product Line Management 89% 60% 38% 33% 27% 4% 4% 4% 2% Vanson Bourne - Brands to Leads

14 Brands to Leads Which of the following are the three most important factors when measuring campaign success? 93% 25% : only asked of respondents who do research their target market Sales leads Audience engagement 93% 71% Web traffic 42% Sales Leads Brand Perception Editorial coverage Brand perception Audience reach Social media chatter and mentions 37% 25% 19% 10% Awards 2% 13 Vanson Bourne - Brands to Leads

15 Marketer as researcher How do you track social media use by customers? Nearly a1/4 say we don't track social media use by customers : only asked of respondents whose organisation uses social media methods to research target markets We use social media tracking tools in-house Our social media agency does it We have hired a specialist agency for this purpose We don't track social media use by customers * Other (please specify) * Other (please specify): Apollo report 58% 13% 3% 23% 3% Vanson Bourne - Marketer as researcher

16 Marketer as researcher In which of these ways would you say the culture of marketing communications in your business has principally changed over the past few years? 69% say a greater emphasis has been placed on targeting specific audiences 54% say that keeping track of customers has increased in importance : all respondents A greater emphasis has been placed on social media A greater emphasis has been placed on targeting specific audiences Keeping track of customers has increased in importance It's less about brand development and more about demand generation A greater emphasis has been placed on evaluation, especially calculating ROI in communications Traditional marcomms now not perceived as delivering ROI We've adopted B2C communications principles/we've adopted B2B/corporate communications principles It hasn't changed 81% 69% 54% 54% 47% 19% 14% 2% 47% say a greater emphasis has been placed on evaluation especially calculating ROI in communcations 15 Vanson Bourne - Marketer as researcher

17 Marketer as researcher Do you break-out the evaluation of campaign success across the different disciplines? E.g. social media, print advertising, DM, PR etc. : all respondents Yes No 73% 27% 73% 73% break-out the evaluation of campaign success across the different disciplines 16 Vanson Bourne - Marketer as researcher

18 Marketer as researcher How do you research your target market? 7% indicated that they don t research their target market : all respondents Market data reports Formal customer feedback (survey) We commission market research Informal customer feedback (anecdotal) Social media/analytics Social media customer insight tools We run surveys in-house surveys Big data/customer analytics We don't research our target market * Other (please specify) * Other (please specify): Usage in the cloud 69% 68% 64% 61% 44% 31% 31% 22% 7% 2% 17 Vanson Bourne - Marketer as researcher

19 Marketer as researcher When do you research your target markets? 69 % : only asked of those respondents who do research their target markets We are constantly gathering insight from our target market We only gather audience insight for planning campaigns Don't know 69% 20% 11% 55 69% say they are constantly gathering insight from their target market 18 Vanson Bourne - Marketer as researcher

20 Changing skill sets Which of the following marketing skills do you regard as the most valuable in B2B/B2C technology marketing? 61% say a working knowledge of the burgeoning array of marcomms channels, including social media Combination grid showing answers ranked first, second, and third : all respondents Ability to generate relevant audience insight Content creation Ability to evaluate and prove ROI/value of marcomms Working knowledge of the burgeoning array of marcomms channels, including social media Creativity *Other (please specify) * Other (please specify): Ability to do many and varied things at the same time 69% 66% 63% 61% 39% 2% 19 Vanson Bourne - Changing skill sets

21 Changing skill sets Which of the following marketing skills do you regard as the most valuable in B2B/B2C technology marketing? 27% 24% 10% Grid showing which skills ranked as most important. generate relevant audience insight evaluate and prove ROI/value of marcoms creativity : all respondents Ability to generate relevant audience insight Ability to evaluate and prove ROI/value of marcomms Content creation 27% 24% 22% Working knowledge of the burgeoning array of marcomms channels, including social media 17% Creativity 10% Other (please specify) 0% 20 Vanson Bourne - Changing skill sets

22 Changing skill sets Do you run integrated campaigns; i.e. ones that use different marcomms platforms/channels? : all respondents Yes No 90% 10% 90% say they do run integrated campaigns 21 Vanson Bourne - Changing skill sets

23 Changing skill sets Thinking about technology marcomms, in which of the following areas do you think there is a lack of skills? 42% 42% 36% data analysis making sense of different data sources trends analysis : all respondents Data analysis Making sense of different data sources Trends analysis Evaluation Creativity Social media None of the above 42% 42% 36% 32% 32% 29% 12% 22 Vanson Bourne - Changing skill sets

24 Changing skill sets When thinking about your organisation's ability in using tools such as data analytics, social media/analytics and insight tools, to what extent do you agree with the following statements: We are having to outsource increasing research aspects of our job to suppliers/agencies 32% : only asked of respondents whose organisations use social media/ analytics, social media customer insight tools or data analytics to research target markets 1 - strongly disagree 2 - disagree 3 - neither agree nor disagree 4 - agree 5 - strongly agree Average 9% 29% 31% 26% 6% 2.91% Vanson Bourne - Changing skill sets

25 Demographics How old is your organisation? How many employees work in your organisation? : all respondents : all respondents Less than 1 year old 0% Fewer than 50 employees 7% 1-3 years 3% employees 10% 3-6 years 0% 250-1,000 employees 12% 6-12 years 14% More than 1,000 employees 71% Older than 12 years 83% Average age of organisation (years) Vanson Bourne - Demographics

26 Demographics Does your business mainly sell to businesses or consumers? Which of the following is your organisation's main focus? : all respondents : all respondents B2B B2C 97% 3% Software Services 36% 24% Cloud computing 12% Networking 8% Security 7% Storage 5% Telecoms and related 2% *Other (please specify) 6% * Other (please specify): Hosting x2; Payment Gateway; Security; Software, services, cloud and hardware 25 Vanson Bourne - Demographics

27 About Vanson Bourne About Vanson Bourne Vanson Bourne is an independent and specialist market research provider for the global technology sector. We have a demonstrable track record of helping our clients better understand and communicate more effectively in their target markets, providing market research with real statistical rigour. Our expertise in sampling, design and assured project management combine with informed data insights and market context to deliver highly effective technology marketing. 26 Vanson Bourne - About Vanson Bourne

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